COMMUNICATIONS

SKILLS

Instructor:
Lecture # 04
 Chapter # 14

Strategies For
Successful Speaking &
Successful Listening
Overview
 What is a Presentation?
 Why do we need a presentation?
 Kinds of Oral Presentation
 Ways of Oral Presentation
 Steps for preparing Oral Presentation
 Strategies for effective Oral Presentation
 Strategies for effective non verbal delivery
 Strategies for reducing stage fright
 Strategies for improved listening skills
What Is A Presentation?
 A presentation is a kind of communication between
the speaker and the audience!

Communication!
Contd…
 How can you give a presentation as a kind of
communication with the audience?
 Communicate 3 Kinds of Messages:
 1. Physical Message
 2. Story Message
 3. Visual Message

Physical
Message

Story Visual
Message Message
speaker
audience
“Present to inform, not to
impress; if you inform
you will impress”
Fredrick P. Brooks
Kinds of Oral Presentation
 Basic three kinds based on purpose of
presentation:
 Informative
 Persuasive
 Entertainment
 Other two types based on length:
 Short presentation
 Long presentation
Informative:
 Purpose  to clarify, to give understanding, to
explain process
 e.g.  teacher making speech to inform
 Achievement  listeners have better
understanding
Persuasive:
 Purpose  Gaining willing acceptance of an
idea
 e.g. thesis presentation, advertisements
 Achievement  listeners will accept your claim
Entertainment:
 Purpose social occasions like promotion
parties, retirement or anniversary
Short presentation:
 1 10 min
 Purpose  greeting, award, retirement, visitor,
opening etc.

Long presentation:
 10 min  1 hr
 Asia  even two hrs
 Try to limit between 20 min 30 min
 If too long audience looses interest
Ways of Oral Presentation
 Extemporaneous
 Reading/ manuscript
 Memorizing
 Impromptu
1. Extemporaneous:
 Most widely used
 Do research and create outline
 Use 3” * 5” cards
 Allows more interaction with the audience

2. Reading/ manuscript:
 Used for long scripts
 For political statements, where mistakes are
not allowed
 TV teleprompter
 Not very god for live audience
3. Memorizing:
 Most difficult
 Very less
 Forgetting decreases credibility

4. Impromptu:
 What is impromptu?
 When you speak “off the cuff”, without
preparation you are speaking impromptu.
 Often taking comments or abrupt replies.
Steps for Oral Presentation
1. Determine the purpose
2. Analyze the audience
3. Select main ideas for the message
4. Research the topic
5. Organize the data
6. Create visual aids
7. Rehearse the talk
Determine the purpose
 When we communicate we want to get some
wished results.
 Determine your goals first
 As aforementioned they might be:
 To inform
 To persuade
 To entertain
Analyze the audience
 Very important
 Talking within your organization easy
 Reason being you know audience and their
needs well
 Talking outside is a challenge
 Get following info from the person who asked
you to speak:
 Size
 Age range
 Interests
 Occupation
Select main ideas for the message
 First select the main idea
 Then gather additional info to support it
 Now list all important things
 First listing might be disorganized
 2nd might be better
 Do not rush at this stage, take time to finalize
ideas
 Next stages will refine
 your listing
Research the topic
 Collect necessary info and data
 Be specific in data that keeps on changing
 You might include or remove some ideas from
your initial listing
Organize Data & Write Draft
 After ideas are finalized and gathered info 
order in form of an outline
 A good speech has three important parts:

1. INTRODUCTION (10-15%)

2. BODY (70-75%)

3. CONCLUSION (10-15%)
1. Introduction:
 Capture audience interest
 Create enthusiasm and positive impression
 Welcome and thank the audience
 Keep them in interest using “PAL”
Porch:
Opening statement
 Can be an anecdote, startling comment, suitable
joke, quotation, question etc.
Aim:
Your purpose
Why are you giving the presentation.

Layout:
The organization of your thoughts
Agenda/ outline/ overview
2. Body (70  75%):
 Text and discussion
 Main content
 Use evidence, facts n figures, numbers, graphs,
visuals etc.
 Use transitional phrases like firstly, lastly, now, later
on etc.
 Use “bridges” between major parts (I’ve just discussed
three reasons for X; now I want to move to Y).
 Use verbal signposts (however, for example, etc.).
3. Summary/ conclusion (10  15%)
 Bullitize your discussion
 Reminds listeners of all important ideas
 Closing
 Draw inferences of discussion
Create visual aids
 We see more than we listen
 Good but don’t overload with it
 Not to use where unnecessary
 What are visual messages?
 Handouts, posters, ppt
 Restricting to ppt. three things to remember:
1. Make good visuals
 Make it simple
 Keep it short
2. Use them well
 Introduce
 Explain
 Emphasize
3. No plagiarism!!!
 What is plagiarism?
 It is to use someone else’s work without giving the
person any credit.
 Plagiarism is the worst thing you can do in
academics.
 Give credits to other people’s work ALWAYS!
 Which looks better?
Figure 1 Attendance for East and North Parks
6000

Name/Mo
Jan. Feb. March April
nth 5000

4000

East Park 2486 2327 2253 2183

E. Park
3000 N. Park
Totals

North 2000
1629 1876 2765 2685
Park

1000

TOTALS 4115 4203 5018 4868

0
Jan. Feb. March April
Table 1 Attendance for East and North Parks
Which looks better?
Figure 1 Attendance for East and North Parks
6000
Name/M
Jan. Feb. March April
onth
5000

East
2486 2327 2253 2183 4000
Park

E. Park
3000 N. Park
Totals
North
1629 1876 2765 2685
Park
2000

TOTAL 1000
4115 4203 5018 4868
S

0
Jan. Feb. March April
Table 1 Attendance for East and North Parks
Which looks better?
Bullet Chart 1 Bullet Chart 2

Scuba Diving Rules Scuba Diving Rules

Always dive with another  Dive with a Buddy

person, a buddy, so that you
can watch over each other.
 Watch your Bottom Time

Remember to calculate
bottom time to allow enough  Don’t Touch the Marine Life
time for decompression if
necessary.

Don’t put your hands on

marine animals. You could
injure them or yourself.
Which looks better?
Bullet Chart 1 Bullet Chart 2

Scuba Diving Rules Scuba Diving Rules

Always dive with another  Dive with a Buddy

person, a buddy, so that you
can watch over each other.
 Watch your Bottom Time

Remember to calculate bottom

time to allow enough time for  Don’t Touch the Marine Life
decompression if necessary.

Don’t put your hands on

marine animals. You could
injure them or yourself.
3 Steps for Using Visuals Well
Figure 2 Monthly Sales of Cars
 1. Introduce
 Tell us what the 35

visual is about. 30
 2. Explain 25
 Explain how to read
20
your visual.
 3. Emphasize 15

 Emphasize your 10
point ONLY! 5

0
June July August Sept.
 Which looks better?
Table 1 Attendance for East and North Parks Figure 1 Attendance for East and North Parks
6000

Name/M
Jan. Feb. March April
onth 5000

4000
East
2486 2327 2253 2183
Park
E. Park
Here is an example
3000 of N. Park

how you give credit to Totals

someone else’s
2000work!
North
1629 1876 2765 2685
Park

1000
TOTAL
4115 4203 5018 4868
S
0
Jan . Fe b. Marc h April
These examples are taken from Harrington and LeBeau (1996: 89)
Rehearse the talk
 Why?
 To be comfortable
 To gain confidence
 How?
 Loud
 Three times
 With stopwatch
 In front of mirror
 Guidelines:
 Imagine audience in front of you
 Use transitional phrases
 Avoid long sentences
 Take one point and rehearse well as a unit
 Include visual aids n know well how and where
to use them
 Anticipate questions and devise answers for them
 Try to limit yourself in prescribed time
Strategies For Effective Oral
Delivery
Strategies for an effective Oral Delivery
 Difference in written/ oral communication
 Words are static, voice has human element
more interesting
 Voice is a Personal Signature
 Pitch
 Rate
 Volume
 Vocal quality
 Pronunciation
Pitch
 Highness or lowness of voice
 Must be varied
 Problems:
 Monotone: having no or little variation
 High or low voice: if low always low, if high
always high
 Same word value:
 Marry don’t do that

Marry don’t do that Marry don’t do that

Marry don’t do that Marry don’t do that
Rate
 Words/ min
 Normally  80-160 words/min
 Fast  80- 250 words/ min
 Variation good
 Slow dull
 Fast discomfort
 Keyword related to rate is “pause”
 Helps audience to digest thought
 Helps speaker to collect thoughts
Volume
 Loudness or softness of your voice
 Should reach last person in the room
 Volume varies for a room of 100 and 5
 To improve it follow the understated
guidelines:

 Contrast the emphasize: emphasize certain words

and ideas
 Controlled breathing: deep breathing helps
Vocal quality
 Something indescribable which differentiates
your voice from others
 husky., throaty, ringing etc.
 Consult therapists
 Due to your mouth, lips, tongue, teeth etc,
Pronunciation
 International speakers are forgiven for mis-
pronunciation
 National are not
 Be careful while commenting on anyone's
pronunciation
 Jargons
 Varied regional accents
 Added or omitted sounds
 Hmm, uh, er, ok, y’know
 Athalete, athlete, gonna, going to
 Listen to educated people
 Consult a recent dictionary
Any Questions ?